Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/170

142 miles from San Diego, by a detachment of California volunteers, and carbineers from the Congress, with a ﬁeld-piece, under Captain Gillespie, from whom he learned the particulars of the attempted revolution.

Commodore Stockton left Ciudad de los Angelos, with his sailors and marines, on the 2nd of September, and proceeded to San Francisco, at which place he designed to make arrangements for an attack on Mazatlan and Acapulco, in conjunction with Lieutenant Colonel Frémont. The latter joined him on the 12th of October, with 170 men of his battalion, having left Captain Gillespie with a small party in command at the capital. The expedition immediately started; the Commodore sailing with his force for San Pedro, in the Congress; and Lieutenant Colonel Fremont in a vessel chartered for the purpose, intending to land at Santa Barbara.

No sooner had the greater part of the American forces been withdrawn from the vicinity of the capital, than symptoms of a revolt began to be manifested. The inhabitants did not appear willing to acquiesce at once in this sudden change of their government, and the disaffected were encouraged to make resistance by the Mexican officers still in the territory. An appeal to arms was determined on, and a body of the enemy, numbering five or six hundred, took the field under the command of General Flores. Captain Gillespie was besieged in the government house and forced to capitulate, having obtained permission, however, to retire with his men on board the Savannah, then lying off San Pedro. Captain Mervine, in command of the frigate, promptly landed a portion of his crew, and marched towards the capital. He met a party of the enemy with one piece of artillery, a short distance